Barbie and the Diamond Castle (NR, 2008)
common sense media says
Charming friendship tale ties into lots of toys.
parents & educators say
- 44% say there are positive messages
- 33% say there are positive role models
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that even though this DVD is clearly meant to sell more toys in the Barbie brand (the dolls, the carriage, and the castle can be purchased), it does have enough substance and skilled performances to engage a varied audience. Younger children may not understand the history of the muses, though the over-arching themes of friendship, connection, and harmony are meant for all ages.
Violence & scariness:
A sword fight that never gets started. A dragon gets bonked on the head.
Sexy stuff:
Not applicable.
Language:
Not applicable.
Consumerism:
Many, many product tie-ins from Mattel: dolls, carriage, castle, and more.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
Not applicable.
More on Barbie and the Diamond Castle
Review It
Based on 9 parent & educator reviews:
- 44% say there are positive messages
- 33% say there are positive role models
Most useful reviews by all members
twoandtwomakesfour
parent of 6 and 13 year old
parent of 6 and 13 year old
Great movie
Love it! Great music, great movie.
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readilyaparent
parent of and 3 , 5 , 6 year old
parent of and 3 , 5 , 6 year old
Scary witch and her minion scared my daughter, sexual undertones scared me
My 3 year old daughter was incredibly scared by the flying creature the witch has chasing the girls. And thought it says no sexy stuff there is some pretty non-subtle hints of things such as one night stands. (The girls get a job singing at a "pub" where the "barmaids" attack the two minstrels the girls fall in with because they never returned after "that night" or something along those lines - it was pretty obvious to me, though I know a young child wouldn't understand what was going on - I just don't think that kind of behaviour should be viewed by kids anyway
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Henryfan9947
kid, 12 years old
kid, 12 years old
B A D P E O P L E A N D T H E Y A R E E V I L !!!!!!
THEY HATE EACH OTHER!!!!!!
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catht
parent of 4 and 6 year old
parent of 4 and 6 year old
Might be scary for some
We rented this and I naively thought that a Barbie movie would be safe for my kids to watch, at least in terms of not scaring them. I was wrong, and we ended up turning it off halfway through because my kids (3.5yo and 5.5yo) were both crying and telling me they didn't want to watch anymore. And they consider movies to be really fun treats, so this is really saying something.
There's a scene where the girls' house burns down, and several scenes with a scary villain and her dragon. I think it was the dragon that put my kids over the edge.
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Beckstar
adult
adult
lovely!
I love this film! Overall I didn't really like the 'friendship' plot. But I still liked it. The dogs were cute, but irritating. A great film for young girls. I'm 19 and me and My mother love all the films (not the current ones like 'Fairy Secret' though).. No problems in this film.
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mlmommyof3
parent of and 2 , 4 , 6 year old
parent of and 2 , 4 , 6 year old
Beware! Scary Parts!
There is a scene when a fire burns down the 2 main characters' house, there is a bad guy dragon and scary "witch-like" character. My 4 year old was fine, but her 4 y.o. friend was NOT. She was scared.
The music and singing are great though.
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embeau
parent
parent
Barbie series is fabulous with great messages for little girls (age two and up)
My daughter (and all the girls at her preschool) all have seen the barbie series and talk about them endlessly. There is a silly, scary dragon in Diamond Castle but for the most part it is not a "scary" movie. My daughter scares easily but loves this movie. She started with the series at age 2 1/2 or so. I would recommend all of the barbie series except the nutcracker (weird and scary). Little girls love this series. For the record, I was NOT a big Barbie fan prior to seeing any of these dvds.
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mysterymulan
kid, 11 years old
kid, 11 years old
Less magic
I think Diamond castle was a good movie but i think it would be better if there was less magic.
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TriasFamily
parent of 5 and 7 year old
parent of 5 and 7 year old
Good music and parents will probably enjoy this, too.
My kids like this movie and so do we. It is one of the best Barbie movies of the ones we have seen. It has great music and songs. We liked the music so much that we even bought the soundtrack. If your kids are sensitive to scary things, it might not work for them, though.
It does have plenty of female characters who actually talk to each other! The two main characters are best friends and the movie is a good example of friendship. They also help out another girl.
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CrazyBlu4Eva
kid, 10 years old
kid, 10 years old
A good Barbie movie but not the best.
I watched this movie back when I was Grade 2.It was good but it didn't make me say on how wonderful it is.Every single Barbie movie are all the same.Pink,and full of product tie ins.
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fastraxsg
parent of 6 and 10 year old
parent of 6 and 10 year old
Good lessons
It was a good movie for little girls because they love princesses. But it also teaches you to be loyal, strong and never give up!
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alliekat7
kid, 11 years old
kid, 11 years old
Good Barbie movie!
This movie shows a good example of friendship!
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PANDAZ SUCK
kid, 11 years old
kid, 11 years old
Cute but not for kids who have friends
Cute for you if you are that girl on the monkey bars who has no friends! This movie is about friendship but no true advice for older girls who... have friends but are slowly beginning to fall apart...
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99IsMyLuckyNumber
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
NOT APPROPRIATE ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND
OH it was terrible. Barbie and her brunette friend taught me child so many horribe messages! I can't believe Mattel. Now my kids wants to sell flowers and be a janitor at burger king. Just like Barbie D: please save us. This is not appropriate.
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Sophiesmum
kid, 4 years old
kid, 4 years old
Terrible
This movie was far too scary for my four and a half year old daughter, she has had nightmares about the scary lady and the dragon. The stereotyping of the dumb-acting boys coming to rescue the girls made my toes curl, not to mention the irate barmaids throwing things at them (alluding to a one night stand). I hate the body image of the three main characters, so thin and unrealistic, plus the huge eyes that seem to be the disease of 21st century dolls. I thought Barbie had escaped that trend... Overall the movie has good messages about friendship, but it is far too sophisticated for a child under eight.
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